Browse learning materials

All hail to thee, thou good old state

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 6.8

A poem by Mary Bayard Devereux Clarke, North Carolina writer and editor, written in 1854. Includes historical commentary.

Format: poetry/primary source

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Antebellum North Carolina

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the antebellum period (1830–1860). Topics include slavery, daily life, agriculture, industry, technology, and the arts, as well as the events leading to secession and civil war.

Format: book (multiple pages)

The Bouquet

In North Carolina in the New South, page 5.2

Story by Charles Waddell Chesnutt. Includes reading questions.

Format: story/primary source

Colonial North Carolina

Colonial North Carolina from the establishment of the Carolina in 1663 to the eve of the American Revolution in 1763. Compares the original vision for the colony with the way it actually developed. Covers the people who settled North Carolina; the growth of institutions, trade, and slavery; the impact of colonization on American Indians; and significant events such as Culpeper's Rebellion, the Tuscarora War, and the French and Indian Wars.

Format: book (multiple pages)

Curiosities of Literature

Format: image/photograph

Death of an Old Carriage Horse

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 6.11

In North Carolina History: A Sampler, page 9.4

Poem by George Moses Horton. Includes historical and literary commentary.

Format: poetry/primary source

By George Moses Horton.

Finding and using literary criticism

A guide for high school students to finding and using literary criticism, in print and on the web.

By Melissa Thibault.

George Moses Horton

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 6.10

The historic poet laureate of Chatham County, North Carolina, George Moses Horton, was the only person to publish a book while living in slavery.

Format: article

The Great Depression and World War II

Primary sources and readings explore the history of North Carolina and the United States during the Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945).

Format: book (multiple pages)

North Carolina History: A Sampler

A sample of the more than 800 pages of our digital textbook for North Carolina history, including background readings, various kinds of primary sources, and multimedia. Also includes an overview of the textbook and how to use it.

Format: (multiple pages)

North Carolina in the early 20th century

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the first decades of the twentieth century (1900–1929). Topics include changes in technology and transportation, Progressive Era reforms, World War I, women's suffrage, Jim Crow and African American life, the cultural changes of the 1920s, labor and labor unrest, and the Gastonia stirke of 1929.

Format: book (multiple pages)

North Carolina in the New South

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the decades after the Civil War (1870–1900). Topics include changes in agriculture, the growth of cities and industry, the experiences of farmers and mill workers, education, cultural changes, politics and political activism, and the Wilmington Race Riot.

Format: book (multiple pages)

Paul Green

In The Great Depression and World War II, page 3.9

Biography of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.

Format: biography

Poor Richard's Almanack

In Colonial North Carolina, page 6.12

In North Carolina History: A Sampler, page 4.1

Excerpts from the alamanc published by Benjamin Franklin show what colonial Americans read and what topics interested them, including weather predictions, religion, history, astrology, and schedules of court dates. Includes both images of the original almanacs and transcriptions as well as historical commentary.

Format: magazine/primary source

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood and David Walbert.

Thomas Wolfe

In North Carolina in the early 20th century, page 6.6

Brief biography of Thomas Wolfe, novelist from Asheville, North Carolina.

Format: biography

Resources on the web

Absolute Shakespeare

E-texts of William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems. Study guides provide in-depth plot summaries, commentary and character analyses for each of his major works. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: AbsoluteShakespeare.com

Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts

A searchable catalog containing full text digital documents in English literature, American literature, and Western philosophy. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Infomotions and Eric Lease Morgan

American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century

A collection of web guides explore each decade of the twentieth century through Art & Architecture, Books & Literature, Fad & Fashion, Education, Events & People, Music, Theater, Film, Television, and Technology. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Kingwood College Library

American Masters

From children's book authors to jazz greats, this series presents the biographies of America's great creative talent. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: PBS

Anne Frank the Writer

Explore an exhibition of primary sources, original manuscripts, interviews, and photographs that that examine Anne Frank as a writer. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum